Took advice from an old forester about leaving dead trees standing

A retired forester named Bob stopped by a job I was on last summer near Eugene. I was about to take down a big dead oak that I figured was a hazard. He told me to leave it because woodpeckers and owls would use it. I thought he was nuts but I held off. Six months later I spotted a pair of barred owls nesting in a cavity in that same tree. Changed my whole view on hazard removals. Anyone else rethink their take on deadwood after seeing wildlife move in?

2 comments

2 Comments

camerona799d ago

Can't believe you actually listened to some random old guy. That's wild. Barred owls are no joke either. They'll straight up take over a cavity and run off smaller birds. Good thing you didn't drop that oak. Dead trees are ugly but they're basically apartments for critters.

robinc665d ago

@camerona79 "apartments for critters" - love that. Perfect way to put it.